Page 48 of Caught Up

I gripped her thighs and started to pull her close again. “What do I need to do to convince you? More groveling?”

She blew out a shaky breath. “No.”

The suspicion remained in her gaze, so I ran my hands up her legs, gripping her hips. “What if we erase all of it?”

Her brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“What if we rewrite those bad memories with good ones? Pick up where we left off?”

Her eyes dropped to my lips. “I’m not looking for something serious right now.”

I nodded, ready to lie through my teeth, say whatever it took to see her again. “I can’t do anything serious either.”

Her gaze lifted back to mine, and I could see the turmoil in her eyes as she decided something. “Look, I’m breaking all my rules here, but what are you doing Friday?”

I fought back a grin. “Whatever you’re doing Friday.”

“Let me show you what else Velvet has to offer, and if you’re still interested after, we can talk about this more.”

“I’ll be there.”

16

Lauren

Istumbled out of thearcade into the humid night air, nearly knocking Taylor over. My legs didn’t want to work, and my clit was overstimulated to the point that every rub of fabric was jarring. I had no idea where Junior had learned to dothat, but I felt like I should send the person who’d taught him a nice bouquet of flowers.

“Woah,” Ryan said, grabbing my shoulders. “You okay? He didn’t drug you or anything, did he?”

Walter pressed close, too, and I had to dodge sideways to keep his nose out of my crotch.

“I’m fine,” I said, grinning.

Taylor snorted. “Oh, she’s been drugged, all right. With sex hormones.”

I wrapped my arms around my roommates’ waists and turned them away from the arcade. “Come on. Let’s go home, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Back at our brownstone, we gathered on the couch with a bottle of wine, aLove Islandrerun playing quietly in the background.

“So,” Taylor said. “Did you fuck?”

I shook my head. “He didn’t even let me touch him. Just carried me into the photo booth and went down on me.”

Taylor’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “And he paidyouseven grand to do it?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’d feel guilty, but it’s his money. If that’s how he wants to spend it, who am I to tell him otherwise?”

Ryan nodded. “That’s the spirit.”

Taylor tipped her head sideways. “You look different. Something’s changed.”

I had to give it to her; her intuition was killer. “I may or may not have invited him back to Velvet.” Quickly, I caught them up on the conversation we’d hadpost-hookupand the fact that I was considering giving Junior a chance to redeem himself.

Taylor listened with wide eyes. “Wow, you must really like him if you’re breaking yourone-strikepolicy.”

I stared into my wine, trying to find the right words. “It’s complicated. Yes, he hurt me, but I believe that he thought he was doing the right thing, and, more important, I believe he’s sorry. And I can’t deny the way I feel around him.” I shook my head. “There’s this...pull between us, this connection. I felt it a decade ago, and it’s still there. It’s not just physical, either. I want to get to know him more, find out who he is now.”

Ryan set their glass down and turned to me. “I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer about all of this, but Junior’s still in the Mafia, doing god knows what. And isn’t his father, like, the devil himself? Are you really okay with that?”

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